Patriarch accuses Curia Cardinal.
Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Youssef III Younan has accused Curia Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, of helping orchestrate an effort to remove him.
Younan told the Substack.com-account 'The Pillar' that Gugerotti encouraged bishops to turn against him. He also alleges that Gugerotti helped develop the new papal law now being used against him.
Younan, 81, has led the Syriac Catholic Church since 2009. He is the first Eastern Catholic patriarch to face proceedings under Pope Leo XIV’s 'Mutua concordia', promulgated on August 29.
The process against him was reportedly initiated on September 4 - just six days later.
Under the new law, a synod may request a patriarch’s resignation for a grave cause. If he refuses, proceedings can continue under another bishop’s presidency. Removal requires a two-thirds secret vote, the patriarch must be allowed to defend himself, and the decision requires papal assent.
The case centers on an alleged breakdown of communion between Younan and his bishops, described as a lack of “fraternal harmony,” and claims that he failed for years to convene the Church’s governing synod regularly.
Younan denies there is a grave cause for his removal and rejects the claim that he obstructed synodal meetings.
On September 17, the Syriac Patriarchate issued a communiqué denouncing reports about Younan as “allegations, lies and calumnies” and reserving the right to take legal action against defamatory claims.
The Patriarchate says Younan called a synod for November 2024, which was postponed by common agreement because of the war in Lebanon. A meeting was subsequently held in Rome in July 2025.
It says the Permanent Synod agreed on July 23, 2026 to hold an ordinary synod in November. Younan formally summoned the bishops on September 2 for November 17–20 - two days before the removal process reportedly began.
Younan says the deeper conflict originated with Bishop Flaviano Rami Al-Kabalan, the Church’s former procurator in Rome. Younan wanted him to return to episcopal ministry in Lebanon, but Al-Kabalan remained in Rome. Younan alleges that Al-Kabalan then mobilized bishops against him with support from contacts in the Roman Curia.
Younan further alleges that Gugerotti encouraged opposition to him and, at the July 2025 Rome meeting, invited bishops to make accusations against their patriarch and encouraged a no-confidence vote, taking the result to the pope.
Younan says the Dicastery should instead have worked to reconcile the bishops and patriarch.
The dispute may extend beyond the Syriac Church. Younan says several Eastern Catholic patriarchs have formally written to Pope Leo with complaints about Gugerotti’s leadership.
The Syriac Catholic Church has roughly 160,000 faithful, mainly in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, as well as diaspora communities.
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